Celebration
by TheEvanescentOne
Summary: The Black sisters have always loved their Halloween celebration - in one situation or another.


**AN: Written for Halloween 2013! Happy 'my favourite holiday' everyone! A little bit of Black...**

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Celebration

A battle cry sounded through the halls of Black Manor as a trio of charging girls in height order - tallest to smallest - thundered noisily down the wooden stairs. Ebony haired ten year old, Bellatrix Black, led the pack with her corkscrew locks flying wildly behind her. She was followed, not quite so savagely, by the younger Andromeda who half skipped every other step and following up the tail end was little Cissy, her shorter legs working twice as hard just to keep up with her older sisters.

At the bottom of the stairs, panting heavily from their wild adventure, Bellatrix brought the girls to a stop and raised her arms in victory of winning their imaginary battle, chanting "We won! We won! We won!" Her sisters excitedly joined in, laughing and jeering happily.

The portraits lining the walls had mostly disappeared into other frames at different locations so to escape the awful noise but those who remained or had nowhere better to go cringed and complained as the girls made their victory known.

"Like a bloody zoo!" one polished, army-like relative sneered.

"My mother would never have let me make such awful a racket!" screeched ageing Irma Black; quite ironically as she added to the noise quite substantially.

"Oh hush now, they're only having fun."

"Fun?" Irma replied, sounding almost offended, "Is that right, Lysandra? As if you'd let your Charis and-"

"_What_ is this awful racket?!" Druella Black's frighteningly sharp tone silenced the girls at once. They drew in breath and all whirled round to see their mother standing, looking absolutely furious and icy cold, at the top of the staircase.

"About time..." Irma commented under her breath.

"I could never have dreamed my girls would make such an inhuman noise! Even on Hallow's Eve there is no excuse!"

Andromeda and Narcissa looked extremely sheepish and ashamed where Bella stood, seemingly proud of making her mother irritated. Kreacher saved them from any further verbal beating as he turned the corner and bowed to his mistress.

"Kreacher wishes to know where Mistress would like the pumpkins this year. He remembers there was some trouble with the candles and tablecloth last time."

Druella sighed heavily as if remembering a rather unpleasant moment in time and nodded, turning to the elf.

"Put them out in the garden. We may have a walk out later and it will be nice to have the pathway lit by the lanterns. But make sure they are sheltered from the wind; it's quite gusty out."

"Of course, Mistress. Kreacher will cast a charm to keep them lit."

With that the old elf hobbled away back to his work and Druella turned her attention back, calmer this time, to her daughters. She looked them, and their little costumes, over before descending the stairs to take a closer look.

Bellatrix raised her chin high and grinned smugly as Druella showed a small, half smile at her outfit. She was dressed in black and white striped pyjamas that were getting a little too short in the limbs for her and had back combed her already unruly curls to make them a wild, tangled mess. Druella also noted there was evidence of her own, and therefore stolen, black eyeshadow colouring under Bella's eyes to make her look gaunt and tired.

"An Azkaban prisoner?" she guessed.

"Yes!" Bellatrix answered with a naughty giggle, "I've been a bad witch!"

Druella nodded, her eyebrows raised, "Indeed you have, my dear," although she was playing along, she was being quite truthful at the same time.

"Bella is always naughty!" Narcissa joined in with a giggle.

"And what are you, Narcissa?" Druella enquired sarcastically, the sparkly dress and fairy wings making it a dead giveaway, "An imp perhaps?"

Narcissa giggled hysterically at this, "Noooo!"

"No? Then... A pixie?"

"No, no, no!" She laughed.

"Surely a fairy then," Druella exclaimed as excitedly as she ever would while she leaned forward as crouched to tickle her little angel's tummy. Cissy nodded and giggled and wriggled.

Druella turned to the middle daughter and a look of confusion appeared. "What are you supposed to be?" The girl was wearing that modern fashion of trousers and a jumper. She didn't understand what was so special about this one. "Haven't you finished?"

Andromeda looked a little disappointment, "Of course I've finished, mother. Can't you tell?"

"I know what it is, mother..." Bella tried to sound supreme and like a little know-it-all.

"Shhh, Bella! Mother, I'm a Muggle!"

Druella's eyes widened in shock and the listening portraits all gasped and, or, made noises of utter disgust. Poor little Andromeda just didn't understand.

"What do you mean you're a ... Muggle?" her mother spat the last word as if it tasted bad in her mouth.

"Well..." Andromeda's lip was already quivering as she looked to her sisters for help. They gave none. "I heard that Muggles dress like witches on Halloween so I thought that I could dress like one of them."

Druella's expression was one of shock, disgust and shame. Silence echoed in the hall. Bellatrix looked down on her little sister as if she knew how this would turn out. Cissy looked terrified.

When Druella spoke, her voice was quiet but shook with the fury and rage enough to scream the Manor down, "Go upstairs... Get changed... Then come to the dining room to join us."

Andromeda went quickly and quietly to the soundtrack of whispering and gossiping portraits, her lip quivering and eyes watering. Once Andie was out of sight, Druella turned to her two other daughters and spoke down to them with a grave seriousness.

"Mark me, daughters. Halloween is a witches' holiday and always will be. Anyone who disgraces it in my home will pay dearly. Do you understand me?"

Bellatrix and Narcissa answered in tandem, "Yes, mother."

Anyone who disgraces it will pay dearly. Andromeda disgraced it. She dressed as a filthy Muggle. That wasn't right, wasn't healthy.

Years later, Bellatrix and Narcissa stand together in the arch leading to the dining room of Black Manor. The table is cluttered with rich autumn foods and treats to feed the family for a week. Both were now well dressed in old fashioned clothing, to please their mother, and carried their pumpkins to the edges of the room - nowhere near the tablecloth as always. Once set at the table as they should be, both exchanged looks of understanding and remembrance.

That Halloween so long ago was the beginning of losing their sister. From then on in she only became more distant, more disgraceful and more interested in the filthy Muggles.

The holiday plagued them with memories of celebration and fun but also of mourning and loss.

Bellatrix's crimson painted lips curl into a bloody smirk. For her, the loss only makes the celebration happier. One less bad apple on the family tree. Narcissa returns the smirk in agreement. In that expression, the blonde only saw the vision of her sister dressed in too-short pyjamas and sporting untamed hair. She wants to keep her happy. Cissy wants to keep everyone happy so she smiles and sits down to the feast with her pure family.

It would be the first Halloween the older teenage sisters spent without their middle sibling. It would be a strange one and a cold one, but a damned good one.


End file.
